Calf muzzle



F. M. INGRAM 1,882,619

cALF MUzzLE oct. 1l, 1932.

Filed Aug. 24, 19:51

proved muzzle.

Patented Oct. 11, 1932 Y Y I y UNITED s;'mriisv PATENT OFFICE CALF MUZZLE Application filed August 24, 1931. Serial No. 559,014.

This invention relates to improvements Figure is a plan View of the body portion calf inuzzles of' that type employing acurved before the tines have been attached and iii the body portion, and having at one end aseries condition in which it is shipped. of outwardly and forwardly extending tines Referring to the accompanying vdrawingv 5 or prongs. 'i I have used' the reference numeral 10 to in- 55 In muzzles of this` type Which have heredicate the body portion of my improved muztofore been in common use the times or prOngS: zle, which is preferably 'fermed of a substanandthe body portion are usually formed 0f tia-lly rectangular piece of sheet metal, and a single piece of metal, or the tines are, comparatively non reslienty formed 0f Separate PeCeS 0 meta-1- Tlgldly The body comprises a back edge 11 .and a 60. "Qnnectef t0 the-boch Poftmn and Compara front edge'12 and side edges 13. The corners tlvely Sp1@ 'There 1S C0n1demb1e,0ble0tl0n of said side edges and the back edge are proto providing muzzles of this type With prongs Med with a pair of Openings M The ope/Ip y Whicliare stiff, due to thefact that the prongs ings 14 are designed to ,.Ceve rope 16 15 are mlurlous to the mother and* to other am'. which supports the muzzle in position on the 65 mals.. Furthermore, if the tines are formed ,mimaps head of nonresilient material, they often become The rope 15 is threadedl through the pairs bent .md do not fummo@ properly' of openings 14 in a manner clearlyv illus- It 1S therefore the Oblect of my Wen/mon trated to form the rope into loop port'ons 25 zo 7. L p y .m to piow ide a calf muzzle of simple, durable and 26 the loop 25* bemg deslgned topass llavelegebldiiiidhl liidutiigieancigi: under the animals jawsand the loop. 2.6v bebers formed of comparatively thin and resili-` in? dsined mbe' Supported by the animal@ ent metal, so arranged that the tines may be head. The free ends of the" loopsl are se- 25 easily bent. from va normal position and at cured together bv a clamp device 27, c onipris- 75 the saine time assume their natural position ing a disk shaped `clamp having an opening after the bending force hasbeenremoved. Q8 through. which the ends 0f the ropes are A further Object 0f my nventon's tQ-P''o threaded` in the manner clearly illustrated Vide a Calf mu-zz1e which is Capable .0f bem in Figure 1. The rope 16 is adj'ustably ou manufactured msuch form afs-may be Shlppe mounted in the elanip to in crease or decrease m. a knocked-down and compact COI-ldltlon the size of the loop '26, and also adjustable whereby the muzzle may be- Shlp'pedm com'. in the openin Us 14 to increase or decrease the paratively small containers if so desired, and Sim of the 10T) 25 35 ivhereby the muzzle Will occupy acoinpara- Negli the mt e ('10s 12 of they body I have 85 tlvely mau Space Wh-en biemg Stored `irevided slots 17 airanved in pairs to pro- My mventlon iconslSt-S mthe Construct-lon ifidewhat I shall termban anchor strap 18 arrangement and combination of the various bt'swee the S10 ts -Sd michor Straps being apart-S105 he deve Wiereblyrlthe- Obcts Conbent outwardly the manner clearly illusemp a e are a .ame as emma er more trated in Figure 4. In front of each pair of 99 full set forth ointed out in m claims and illusltrated in thle aocompanyingydrawing. in 5105517 I have Polded f1 Slot 19- The fr0 Which: edge of the slot. 19 is bent upwardly as illustrated in Figure 2 to fornia lug 29. The anchor straps 18 and the lugs 29 provide "-J Fiom@ Q, is a detail Sectional View taken means for securing the ti-nes 20; in position. 95 on thi line 2 2 0f Figure 1 Each of the tines 20 formed preferably Figure 8 is a detail sectional view taken on 0f a- C0 I1Pa1`&t"@l-V thm P1666 0f metal {OTH-16d the line 8-3 of Figure 2. of spring steel. The outer .end of eaen of the Figure 4 is a perspective View of one 0f the tines is provided with a curved notch 21 to Q' tines employed in my improved muzzle. form pointed ends 22. The opposite end of Figure 1 is a perspective view of my imeach of the tines 20 is provided with an eX- tended portion 23.

rlhe portion 23 is provided with an opening 30for receiving an inwardly extending portion 31 of the lug 29, so that when the portion 23 of the tin-e 2O is placed beneath the member 18, the eXtreme end of the portion 23 will enter beneath the lug 29, which is then bent downwardly until the portion 31 enters the opening 30. The members L29k are bent to a slightly elevated position, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 2, when the body portion is formed. The inner ends of the lugs 29 are slightly curved in the manner illustrated in Figure 5 to somewhat strengthen them.

f The tines are formed separately from the body 10 and packed together. against the said body` sothat the tines and the body may be packed in a suitable container for shipment. After the package has been received by the customer, the tines are placed in position beneath the members 18 in the manner before described. Y

After this has been accomplished, the body 10 is then bent or curved into ay substantially semi-cylindrical form, as shown in Figure 1,

the `amount of the curvature depending uponV the size of the animals head, after which the rope 16 may be placed in position. The

straps 18 are forced outwardly suiiiciently to permit the tines to be easily placed in position, and for that reason would fit somewhat loosely. Y

However, when the body portion is curved to its final position, the curving of the body portion tends to draw the straps inwardly and also tends to bend Athe tines so that the straps and the tines assume the position illustrated in Figure 3.

Thus it will be seen that means is provided whereby the tines are quite rigidly fixed to the body without the use of rivets, screws or other fastening devices, ercept the strap 18 and the lug 19. Y Thus it will be seen that I have provided a calf muzzle of very simple construction which is capable of being packed in a comparatively small space for shipment and storage, and which is at the same time capable of being easily and quickly assembled for use, and which is also capable of being adjusted to fit animals of different sizes, and thereby eliminate the necessity of carrying several sizes in stock, and when so constructed provides a muzzle having resilient tines which are free to bend in case the tines engage an obstruction, and to return to their normal position after the pressure has been released without injury to the tine.

Furthermore, the tine is made of very thin material so that it will not injure the calfs mother or other animals Yas it engages the animals body, and at the same time it is effective for the purpose intended.

The recess formed in the end of the tine is of slight depth to form comparatively short points, so that the only injury that could be inflicted to an animal would be a slight scratch.

I claim as my invention:

1. A calf muzzle comprising a substantially rectangular plate having front and back edges, rope receiving openings in each corner of its back edge, a series of anchor straps adjacentto the front edge of the outer surface of said body, a slot opposite each anchor `stra-p to form an upwardly bent lug, a tine for each anchor strap formed of thin resilient metal, one end of said tine having a curved notch to'form points and the other end having a bent portion having an opening, said bent portion being yadapted to be placedbeneathsaid anchor strap and beneath said lug with the downwardly extending parts of said lug extended into said opening, and an adjustable rope for the first said openings. Y

n 2. A calf muzzle intheflat comprising a body portion formed of a at piece of quite stiff and comparatively non-resilient metal capable of being bent to a substantially semicylindrical formation, a series of tines formed of comparatively thin and highly resilient metal, one end of each of said tines having a pointed portion, and means for detachably anchoring the opposite end of each of said tines to one end of said body portion with the tines projecting outwardly and forwardly of one end of said body portion.

3. A calf muzzle comprising a curved body portion formed of stift' material, a series of tines formed of thin and flat spring steel, means for detachably supporting one end of each of said tines to one edge of said body, and means for supporting said body on an animals head.

4. A calf muzzlecomprising a curved body portion formed of stifl' material, a series of tines formed of thin and flat spring steel, the outer end of each of said tines having a shallow notch to form blunt points, and means for detachably supporting the opposite end of each of said tines to one edge of said body.

Des Moines, Iowa, July 29, 1931.

FLOYD M. INGRAM- 

